"Maggie, let me go. I"ll be right back," I said, confidently. I took her hand off me and Mac grabbed her shoulder gently.
Whoever it was, was in the back by the cellar door. I swallowed hard, and opened the door in the kitchen that led down to the cellar. I didn"t turn on the light, but slowly descended the stairs. Mac and I started down, it was completely dark and we heard nothing.
Once at the bottom of the stairs, I stopped and stood completely still and listened. Mac went by me and stood close to the door. I thought I heard something outside. Then I felt something behind me on the stairs. I braced myself for another attack. No one was going to throw me through a door this time.
As before, I turned around, but this time I grabbed the intruder by the front of his shirt. I reared back and was about the throw whoever it was out of my way... It was Maggie.
I could see she was about to let out a blood-curdling scream so I put my hand over her mouth.
"Sshh," I whispered. "I think there"s someone outside. Go back upstairs."
Her eyes widened and she shook her vehemently.
"Maggie, don"t argue with me," I whispered.
She wrenched my hand away. "I"m not leaving you two alone," she whispered and stood firm. I wanted to strangle her, but I could see she was unwavering. I angrily pulled her down to the bottom step.
It was completely dark, but the full moon shone through the two small cellar windows. I saw a shadow pa.s.s by one window, then the other. We both stared at the steps that led up to the door. The silence was deafening. Someone or something pulled at the door then stopped, then tugged harder-almost angrily-and stopped again. Then there was one last frenzied yank and a bang. I thought for sure the bolt and latch would give way and the door would fly open. I was petrified and so was Maggie. Mac stood by the door perfectly still. There was nothing but absolute silence.
It was an eerie sight when the shadow pa.s.sed by the window and vanished as if it had never been there.
Chapter Nineteen.
I wish you would have called me, sooner," Steve said as we sat around the kitchen table, which was getting a workout. "I"m glad neither of you went outside. I don"t need another unsolved murder in Cedar Lake."
I could hear the defeated tone in his voice.
"So the door was unlatched from the inside when you two checked it and you locked it?" Steve asked.
I nodded. "Someone had unlocked it, or maybe it"s always been opened."
"Nope. I checked that door myself the other night, after your lady intruder showed up. It was bolted and locked tight," he said firmly.
"Then someone had to unlock it. Who"s been in the cellar since Friday morning?" I asked and looked at Maggie.
"Well, I was down there with Allison, but we got some bottles of wine and came right back up. She wasn"t down there alone," Maggie said.
"I didn"t see anyone go down there, but with all the people here, honestly, who would be watching the cellar?" I asked. "Anyone could have gone down there at anytime and opened it."
"Well, Doc and Sarah checked the cellar this evening when we were looking for the jewelry and glove," Steve said. "Tomorrow morning, I"ll ask them if they noticed the door was unlocked," he said as he stood. "It"s late, why don"t you all get some sleep? I"ll have my deputy patrol the house...again."
Just as I lay down, I heard a soft knock at my door. Maggie stood there in her robe sporting a smug grin.
"Are you lost, young lady?" I asked with a wide yawn.
"Have you misplaced something?"
"You found my wayward dog I take it?"
I followed her into her bedroom. There lay Chance, on Maggie"s bed, sound asleep.
"She looks comfy," I said with a touch of envy.
"She can stay here if you like," Maggie said and shivered a bit as she pulled her robe closer.
"If you like I can get a fire going for you. It is a little chilly in here," I said and looked at her small fireplace.
"Well, it"s late," she whispered and shivered again.
"I can get one going in a minute and you"ll be nice and toasty."
The small fire crackled as I stood gazing at the dancing flames. I looked over at Maggie. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking like a lost and frightened little girl.
"Okay, into bed," I ordered.
She smirked and crawled under the covers. "I am not a child, you know. You keep referring to me as if I were. It"s rather annoying."
I stopped and thought about it. "I apologize. I don"t mean to be insulting. You just look so young. Perhaps I"m just too old," I said, as I looked down at her.
She pulled the covers up her neck. "Too old for what?" she asked, in a soft voice.
Chance stirred then crawled up next to Maggie, put her head on her stomach, and closed her eyes.
"Well, she"s yours for the night," I laughed, ignoring her question.
"You can sit by the fire for a while if you want. It"s probably chilly in your room, too."
I looked at the huge chair. It did look inviting. "Well, maybe for a minute."
My body ached horribly. I sat down and a feeling of comfort engulfed me. I put my feet up on the ottoman and was in heaven. I stared at the fire, trying not to think about anything, but wound up thinking about everything.
"Kate, you need to stop thinking for a while and sleep."
"I will. Go to sleep. I"ll sit here for a while," I yawned and lay my head back.
"That was pretty unusual wasn"t it? I mean the hyacinth, but I wasn"t scared, though," she said, sounding amazed at the idea.
"You weren"t? Well I have to admit I was petrified. Teri is much better dealing with the supernatural than I am," I said, and closed my eyes.
"Well, you certainly don"t show it. How do you remain so calm?" she asked, sleepily.
"Years of emotional detachment," I joked, amusing myself as usual. Sad to say, I"m my best audience.
"You know, I can"t tell if you"re joking or if you"re being serious," she said while yawning.
"I"m at my most serious when I joke," I said quietly. "Go to sleep."
She let out an exasperated groan. "Good night, Kate."
"Good night, Maggie," I yawned and fell sound asleep.
I woke at six o"clock to the sounds of a peacefully snoring duet. I looked over at them. They both looked so comfortable. Maggie was on her back, with the covers all over the place, and Chance lay stretched out at her side with her head on Maggie"s leg. As I got up, Chance raised her head. I gave her a stern, "Sshh!" and she yawned and closed her eyes, the lazy cur. I gently covered Maggie and slipped out of her room.
After a nice long shower, I put on my work clothes, as I called them, and got my camera equipment. I left the heavy equipment behind and took the smaller camera and a few extra rolls of film.
In a half-hour, it would be light. Hopefully, taking a few photos would help me think. As the coffee brewed, I went out on the deck.
The last of the evening stars were barely visible. The sky was clear and it was almost sunrise. I loved that time of day-just before sunrise, when the moonbeams still had their grasp on the sleepy world and the warm rays of the sun started a claim of their own. It was the beginning and the end all at once. I smiled and took a deep contented breath. I would die if I couldn"t be outside. I didn"t care what the weather.
However, there was a definite chill in the air so I guess I did care. I got my jacket and found a small thermos mug in the cabinet. I was ready for an adventure.
Usually Chance was with me, but the lazy thing looked too comfortable sleeping next to Maggie and I couldn"t blame her. If I were sleeping all over Maggie, I"d... I stopped in mid thought. Forget that thought entirely, Ryan. I left a note telling them where I"d be. h.e.l.l, they would still be asleep when I got back.
I walked into the morning air. There was a light fog hovering over the grounds. I crossed the yard and took the path that led into the woods and the lake. The sun was almost up and the wildlife had already begun sending out its wake-up call.
As I got to the lake, I saw a small gaggle of geese, which seemed to have forgotten which direction was south. They left a rippling wake as they lazily swam by. I continued to walk around the lake and came up to the sign as I did the day before. I took the rugged path that led to the Wildlife Refuge. It was about a quarter mile from the house, maybe a little less.
The refuge was on the other side of the lake. As I looked across now, I could barely see Maggie"s house.
There was a five-foot sh.o.r.eline, mostly rocks and boulders, and a path that continued around the lake, which I took. I tried to remember where I"d seen Miranda yesterday morning. I looked back across the lake and figured I was close. Then I saw the huge tree about thirty feet in front of me. I remembered when I took the picture, that tree was directly behind her. I walked over to it and looked around. I shivered, not sure if it was from the morning chill or something more menacing.
I walked around the area and noticed a very large hole in the ground, right behind the tree. I went up to it and it dawned on me-this was where Chance had been digging. I looked around the area for more signs. Then I saw it, a small swatch of burlap, and then another larger piece. I picked them up and put them in my camera case. I knelt and glanced around. I was right; my little mutt had been digging here, right where I saw Miranda. It was almost as if she was showing me where to look. Me? As I thought of Chance doing the scary dog thing, I realized Miranda was showing both of us. G.o.d, don"t go there, Kate, you"re spooked enough as it is. I heard something rustle in the woods. I got nervous and just knelt there, not moving.
"Are you praying?"
I jumped up and saw Maggie with Chance bounding along beside her.
"Jesus!" I exclaimed, "Don"t do that!" With my hand covering my heart, I showed them what I"d found. "Maybe there"s more around."
We combed the area pretty well. Although even Chance had her nose to the ground intent on her task, we found nothing further.
"Well, I"m not sure what I was looking for, anyway," I said. "There is so much c.r.a.p going on here with your family, Maggie."
"I know. I"m not sure of anything," she said sadly, as she continued, "I take that back, I"m sure of one thing. I"m sure Uncle Nathan and mother had an affair and no one wants to come out and say it."
"I agree, completely, I"m afraid," I said, noticing the sad look in her eyes. "I"m afraid there"s a great many secrets, Maggie, as Bedford said before he died."
"I only wish I knew what he was talking about," Maggie said, lightly kicking the ground. "It appears there is more buried than my mother"s jewelry."
"Bedford is a puzzlement to me," I said and leaned against the tree. "I keep going back to what I overheard at the stable. He mentioned your grandfather, Alexander Winfield and Sarah sounded angry. If Bedford kept family secrets..." I stopped as I tried to keep up with my mind-not an easy thing for me to do.
"What Kate?" Maggie asked and watched me intently.
"Let"s say during his time with your family, Bedford, overheard, oversaw, and watched as he did his job. I"m sure he"d seen plenty. He obviously saw too much. Now, if he had all this knowledge, what did he do with it?" I asked and Maggie"s eyes widened.
"You think Bedford may have been blackmailing a member of my family?"
"I don"t think so. If I was gonna blackmail someone and they"re stinking, filthy rich-"
"Thank you."
"Sorry. If I"m blackmailing, I"m certainly not going to live on top of a garage for thirty years shoveling horse dung, washing cars and mowing the lawn," I said. "Nope. I think Bedford knew the family secrets but for some reason, kept them to himself."
"Why? Why would he do that?"
"Why not? He was alone, bored and your family, I"m sorry to say, seems to have a lot of material for Bedford to play with. The fact that, as he was dying, he told you there were so many secrets, told us right there, Maggie. Bedford knew something about someone and my gut says it was Sarah and Nathan."
"It"s hard to believe that Bedford knew all this while he lived in a small garage apartment," Maggie said and shook her head.
The idea struck me. Why didn"t I think of this sooner? "G.o.d, I"m an idiot. Maggie, do you have keys to Bedford"s apartment?"
Maggie blinked in astonishment, but nodded slowly.
I looked around for Chance. She was on the other side of the lake running around like the insane dog she was. "Well, she"s got the right idea, let"s get back."
As we started back, we heard a noise in the woods and turned around to see a beautiful fawn coming out of the woods, toward the water. Ever so slowly, I reached into my bag and took out my camera. We were still behind the huge tree, hidden by the thick brush. I knelt on one knee to get a good angle and snapped off four or five shots. The little creature looked up right at us and stood perfectly still, its little brown-speckled body trembling. Her ear twitched and I snapped a few more. Then she scooted back into the woods.
"These woods are beautiful. How many people do you think come to this side of the lake?
"Since the murder, my guess is probably no one. These woods are pretty primitive. I can"t remember every seeing anyone on this side."
"I think that"s why he buried Miranda"s jewelry here."
I heard the woods moving again. I whispered to Maggie in excitement, "It"s probably another deer."
We slowly backed up into the brush and hid behind a huge boulder. I winked at her and put my fingers to my lips. She smiled and knelt. I knelt on one knee and steadied the camera. The brush was moving and rustling.
"It might be more than one," she whispered right in my ear and I shivered.
If I were a deer, my ear would be twitching. My heart raced and I could feel my face flush as I felt the lingering, soft breath. I glanced at Maggie who gave me an innocent look.
"Sorry," she whispered, with a smug grin as I narrowed my eyes.
"I don"t think so," I challenged in a low whisper.
For some absurd reason, I was staring at her lips. I raised my gaze to those blue eyes that held a questioning, nervous gleam. Now I offered the smug grin.
Maggie now shivered. "Y-you"ll miss your chance."
"I don"t think so," I said, still holding her gaze. I gave my attention to my camera. "This could be a great shot," I whispered and looked through the lens.
I went cold and Maggie caught her breath.